San Joaquin County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

Following abrupt USDA cuts to the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, the Stockton Emergency Food Bank is scrambling to make up the deficit in the face of growing local need.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the lawsuit Wednesday, saying the tariffs hurt “states, consumers and businesses.”

The project to build a 8,200 square foot shop facility for the West High agriculture department began when a student asked "Where can I learn to weld?"

AgFest is fast approaching and is still working out compliance with a state Department of Food and Agriculture ban on display of poultry and dairy cows as a response to the surge in bird flu infections.

Following publication of a Stocktonia story about the lack of electricity, a swift response has turned the lights back on, for now, at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds.

The free Seamless Lunch Summer Program runs from May 28 through July 18 providing free lunches to local youth aged 2-18 years at parks in Manteca, Lathrop, and Weston Ranch.

A report on the 32nd Annual Shrimp Dinner fundraiser for the Tracy Sunrise Rotary Club on April 5.

A fire in February damage a component necessary to power the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. The race is on to restore electricity before the spring and summer fair season begins.

Food aid is one of numerous competing priorities California lawmakers will have to juggle in the face of steep potential federal cuts.

Across California, only one in five eligible college students receive CalFresh due to complicated requirements and an arduous application process. With two-thirds of students experiencing food insecurity, many campuses have started helping them apply for CalFresh.

Get ready to raise a toast to spring at the Lodi Grapoe festival, starting on April 5 at the Grape Festival Grounds. Read on for details.

121 years ago, Benjamin Holt had a bright idea. Read on to learn more about the history of the first Caterpillar tractor, invented and built in Stockton.

The governor vowed to clear the way for more groundwater recharge. Has it worked? “We’re still tinkering around with small numbers,” one expert says.

Read on to learn how fifty-one months after the Manteca City Council began considerations for legal retail sales of cannabis, the first dispensary has opened for business.

Trump apparently wants to override new Biden-Newsom rules that have widespread support among Southern California cities and some Central Valley farmers.

Make plans to enjoy some yum during Stockton Restaurant Week running through January 26. Stocktonia has the details.

“If this is the new normal, this is absolute economic devastation,” says one local economist.

Those in California who’d like a latte with a side of weed have gotten their wish now that a new law goes into effect that permits licensed cannabis dispensaries to add sit-in cafes to their sites.  

The first of three permitted cannabis dispensaries is set to open in Manteca within weeks. Read on to learn more.

Read on to learn more about the growing impact of H5N1 bird flu on San Joaquin County poultry farmers and the local agriculture sector.

New operating rules for massive Delta systems will increase water deliveries to Southern California cities and some growers. Salmon numbers could drop, especially in dry years.

Keith Poulsen's jaw dropped when farmers showed him images on their cellphones at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin in October. A livestock veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Poulsen had seen sick cows before, with their noses dripping and udders slack.

Gov. Newsom launched an ambitious program that uses Medi-Cal to help Californians access housing, healthy food and more. Now, its fate is in the hands of President-Elect Trump.

Are food recalls on the rise? Yes. Read on to learn more.

Learn more about the expanding recall of raw milk products following detection of bird flu in tested samples.

Excessive groundwater pumping is behind the sinking of the ground level in the San Joaquin Valley. Read on to learn more about the Stanford University research behind this startling finding.

Volunteers with the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton/San Joaquin annual Thanksgiving Food Giveaway passed out Thanksgiving meals to 2,801 families on November 26. Read on to learn more.

Bird flu has been detected in chickens at a San Joaquin County farm. Read on to learn more about where and about this highly pathogenic virus.

Read on for details about the Escalon Holiday Parade on December and the vendor booths, food, activities and music around Main Street Park.

Voters in California’s farm belt, stretching more than 400 miles from Kern County on the south to Tehama County on the north, delivered solid majorities for Donald Trump in this month’s presidential election.

Learn about the 52nd annual Manteca Chamber of Commerce hosted Christmas Parade scheduled for December 7.

Find more about a possible community garden to be developed on an unused parcel in downtown Manteca.